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We have so many great background ponies, especially in the recent seasons. Many of them are still unnamed. And they all deserve more love.
We need a place where we can post our favorite bg ponies and suggest names for the unnamed ones. Why don’t we start a fan club?

Do you love Lyra? Like her? Know nothing about her? Whatever the case, this is the place to talk about the cutest, mintiest, and best background pony in all of Equestria!
Until this month I barely noticed Lyra on the show. But then I looked at some pics, and it was like seeing her for the first time. Then I looked up some pictures, read 'Anthropology,' listened to music about her. Then I voted for her in the Most Attractive Pony poll and now I'm a fan for life. xD
(You can vote Lyra too! Help her pull off the biggest upset in forum history! http://mlpforums.com/topic/44455-the-most-attractive-pony-tournament-2013-conference-championships/ )
I don't just like Lyra, I LOVE her. I can't get that unicorn out of my head. I didn't understand background pony nuts or WAIFU fans before, but oh god, I think I've become one. Or both. So here's a topic about her. Tell me what you think about her, what kind of pony you think she is, post cute pictures of her...anything and everything Lyra!

I got my first GIMP Photo done last night, as a test for getting used to the tools and such.
I do terribly need some Criticism though, it just feel like there's something wrong in my photos, or that I need to do better . Help, tips, advice, tricks, anything of the like would help me a great deal if anypony could be so willingly to. (Made this in an hour with a mouse)

So I was watching The Supers Speedy Cider Squeezy 6,000 the other day and twards the end of Flim and Flam's song I noticed this screenshot
I had to rewind and double check, but sure enough; the mare in the middle totally has Thor's hammer; Mjölnir as her cutie mark!
How cool is that? Can anyone tell me her name? Or if she's appeared in other episodes?

I thought I should make a little thread where I can post sketches and finished doodles of my MLP fanart that I wouldn't normally post else where! I'll start this with one of my favourite minor characters, Trouble Shoes!
I am open to critique! So feel free to leave some constructive criticism.
Other Pieces

Okay, so the fandom has speculated on the background ponies' personalities, but most of it is just fanon. In the "real" Equestria, the community's theories may not be true at all. This isn't to say they're definitely not true, it's just to get us thinking.
Derpy: We know that's her name and that she's clumsy because of "The Last Roundup". We also know she's a mailmare because one of the comics involved her delivering the mail, and we know she likes muffins, but is she really obsessed with them? And we know she's clumsy but is she really dumb like some people think? Clumsy does not necessarily equal dumb.
Lyra and Bon Bon: We know that Bon Bon's real name is Sweetie Drops, but that she calls herself Bon Bon as a code name and that Lyra's name really is Lyra and that they're best friends from "Slice of Life". We also know that Lyra is a bit wacky from seeing her do wacky things in the background. However, does one really have a crush on the other or is that just all shipping? Is Lyra really an anthropologist? Does she really know what humans even are? After all, we've seen lots of ponies sitting upright.
Time Turner: An official description of him said his job had to do with time, I think, and his cutie mark is an hourglass but can he really travel through time? For that matter, is he really in love with Derpy?
Dinky: She was seen at the Sisterhooves Social with both Derpy and Amethyst Star, so are they sisters? Cousins? Is she really the daughter of Derpy?

What kind of spin-off titles of MLP:FiM that focus on anypony other than the mane six or spike can you come up with?
Here are mine.
Silver Spoon Explains it All
Mac and Chesse: The Series
Lyra and Bon Bon's Excellent Adventures
Dinky Doo Goes to Canterlot Magic School
Princess Luna and the Dream Squad
Chaos Theories with Discord

In Feeling Pinkie Keen (S1 E15) during the scene where Derpy drops a bunch of stuff onto Twilight's head, they show a bunch of Pegasi with Derpy. I'm hoping someone can tell me the name of the stallion with the ball cap & beard stubble. Also, I thought I remembered seeing him smoking a cigar. He isn't on the S1 video. Was he & it got censored out or do I just misremember? (A distressingly frequent occurrence )

Hey guys, I've noticed this little detail about background ponies in recent seasons: No one is giving a peep about them . I mean, it's weird this is happening, considering we used to go bonkers for any little bit we seen on (former?) background horses, more prominently Bon Bon, Lyra, and Derpy; to the point these were given briefs characterization and fan nods. But now, seems we don't even notice the background ponies coming this season.
When was the last time we go bonkers for a background pony doing something noteworthy? It was Pacific Glow early this season. Nevertheless, she was quickly forgotten. Nor we taken notice in Milie, who appeared back in S2 in Mare do Well with the first baby pony, and returned in Flutter Brutter. And no one even peeped that she COULD be Dinky's actual mother

Just imagine. You're a simple pony living Ponyville.
At each birthday organized by the local party-nimal pink mare, you would like to give a video game to let them discover why they are so great to play.
Okay, but what video game to choose?
You can give a video game to either multiple ponies or a single one. I'm just curious what you would give to them.
If I posted this topic in the wrong place, sincere apologies. ^^'
I will begin with the mane 6, but you can go to the birthday of another pony if you want ! ^^
Twilight Sparkle: I think one of the Age of Empires series should do. There are a lot of knowledge about human civilizations in it and you have to be good in strategy to win.
Rainbow Dash: I would give her Sonic the Hedgehog (the first, on Megadrive/Genesis). Simple to control, energetic gameplay, fast character, and challenge are on the way!
Fluttershy: One of the SingStar series would be good for her! She really like singing and she won't feel any pressure at home.
Rarity: My personal choice would be The World Ends With You. The system of this Action-RPG can be entirely customized and the plot takes place at Shibuya, where everything is about fashion. Not entirely sure I would give her this one if it's her very first game, though. ^^'
Pinkie Pie: The game that make me laugh every single time I play, especially with my friends, is Super Smash Bros. So why not after all? This game is just as random as her, I'm sure she would like it! ^^
Applejack: Hum... A game that should combine ressources management and a little bit of action? I think Minecraft should fit for her.
And you? What would you give? =)

Has there ever been any instances throughout the show where a typical background pony somehow appeared in two places at once during one event, but ONLY as a continuity mistake?
I know it's never supposed to happen at all, but I'm sure several movies and other shows has done something like this at least once before.

So went a bit more off my normal grid if anything when doing this one but it was kinda fun. Used a music texture and roughed it up a bit and added in some grid brushes and blurred them in in a few places and some grunge in blending in some places also in the texture. Few larger notes in the back and just lighten the layer in also adding some purple highlights in neon and fading them out in some places a bit more. Might have done a bit to much but it was fun! Kept Octavia in the minimalist and added in the cloth effect to blend her in more! Octavia: orig06.deviantart.net/3c40/f/2… Music Texture:mikamckeena.deviantart.com/art…
Well now I'm done on wallpapers...for a while...

Hola, y'all. For Valentine's Day of the coming year, I am thinking of creating valentines of some of the characters of season 5. I plan to cover basically only new major characters (such as Starlight, Tree Hugger, Coloratura, Svengallop), some BG ponies (the Slice of Life ponies), extras (such as the Princess Spike workers) and rarely occurring returning characters (like Gilda, Sheriff Silverstar, and Cherry Jubilee). I would like to do it in the pointy pony style (was considering show-accurate vectors but figured that would take forever).
On each valentine I plan on writing some cheesy line that the character would probably say (i.e. "You are simply unequaled!" for Starlight Glimmer) that's related to Valentine's day in some way, or would sound like something you could find on a valentine.
Here's my current list of valentine ideas (each bullet represents one valentine, so some ponies are gonna be sharing some space. Sorry!):
Starlight Glimmer
The Equal Four (Double Diamond, Night Glider, Sugar Belle, Party Favor)
The Pest Control Pony
Sunshower, Open Skies and Clear Skies
Fluffy Clouds
Troubleshoes
Sheriff Silverstar & his posse
Tree Hugger
Smooze
Gilda & Greta
Grampa Gruff
Gimme Moore (the griffon shopkeeper)
Derpy & the Doctor
Cranky & Matilda
Lyra & Bon Bon
Octavia & Vinyl
Steven Magnet
March Gustysnows (Whinnyapolis Delegate)
Manehattan Delegate
Evergreen/Douglas Spurce (Landscaper Pony)
Constructicorn (Public Works Pony)
Frazzle Rock ("Nerdy Delegate")
Annoyed Delegate
Cherry Jubilee
Prince Rutherford
Twilight's friends
Moondancer
Sassy Saddles
Fashion Plate
Cayenne/Pepper Step
Moonlight Raven & Sunshine Smiles
Stormy Flare
Wind Rider
Delivery Pony
Cinnamon Chai
Hat Merchant
Method Mares
(possibly one or two more ponies from Made in Manehattan)
Rosebud (Registration Pony)
Spoiled Rich
Furniture Salespony
Igneous Rock & Cloudy Quartz
Limestone Pie
Marble Pie
Ma Hooffield
Big Daddy McColt
Coloratura
Svengallop
Wow, that is a LOT of ponies. Good thing I thought of this well in advance. Also, I have NOT yet seen "Scare Master" and "What About Discord?" so if I'm missing any major characters from those eps, please let me know.
I realize that I didn't include every pony here, but this is where I'm looking for your feedback. There are a few that I kinda wanna include, but also don't wanna include, but might potentially fall under the category of "How Upset Fans Might Be If I Don't Include Him/Her/Them":
Whoa Nelly (the fat "Incidental Pony")
Big Mac as Cousin Orchard Blossom
The CMC with their new cutie marks
Bowling Ponies
Braeburn
Coco Pommel
Maud Pie
Others
Would you like to see these ponies in valentines? Are there any other ponies you'd like to see in this list? Do you have any design or otherwise stylistic suggestions for these? Would you like to help me create them?
Thanks for taking the time to read this long post of mine.
EDIT: To help me keep track, I'll be underlining/crossing off names of ponies I've already done.

Spin off of a certain game here, except we're using the background ponies. Same rules apply though. +1 from 1 pony. -1 from another. Once one of the ponies reaches 0, they are Eliminated from the match and you'll have to vote for somepony else. Last Pony standing will be the sole survivor and the new MLP champion of the world.
Ready?
*Ding Ding Ding*
Lyra Heartstrings:10
BonBon:10
Vinyl Scratch:10
Octavia Melody:10
Colgate: 10
Carrot Top: 10
Berry Punch: 10
Derpy Hooves: 10
Doctor Whooves: 10

Well, for the past little while, I've been wondering what ponies would be in the next season, and which ones I'd like to see in season 3. Now, I'd like to ask what you guys think. Which ponies would you like to see? Would you like to see them make an appearance as a background character, a small cameo, or maybe even an entire episode around them? Post your thoughts right here!
Personally, I'd love to see Trixie and Discord return. I think it would also be pretty cool if they had an episode with Discord and Chrysalis.

So after feeling a great surge of inspiration, I decided to finally share all my new signatures with you guys. Been using Paint.NET and so far it's been a fun experience. So this is what I have so far, feel free to use any one of these if you want. This thread is after all, for my free signatures.
Pinkie Pie x4(Yes, I love this pony to death! )
Twilight Sparkle
Applejack x2
Rarity x2
Rainbow Dash x2
Fluttershy(Christmas Signature)
Trixie x2
So yeah I'll be updating this quite often. So keep an eye out for more new signatures! Let me know what you guys think and don't hesitate to give me honest critique if you want to. This is pretty much practice for me on the my spare time.

The Cutie Map, Slice of Life, Amending Fences, Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?, Brotherhooves Social, what do they all have in common? They all place secondary and or background characters front and center. This is a season that emphasizes that there is a world beyond Twilight and her friends and that minor characters can have just as much of an impact on this world as our heroes and I think this is going to play a role in the season finale. I could see background characters being the ones to get through to Starlight, not the mane 6, and not the CMC like some are predicting. One character that stands out the most is Diamond Tiara, who had the same kind of self doubt that Starlight's followers have had. Who better to get through to her?
At the very least I expect secondary/background characters to play a role in her reformation.

I was just thinking about this as I was looking at pictures of the Manehattan and Whinnyapolis delegates from Princess Spike. I noticed that the former barely has any pictures of him on Derpibooru, while the latter really has something going for her in the fandom. This support even seems to extend to other ponies like Berry Punch, Tree Hugger, and Octavia, who seems to be much more popular than her stallion bandmates.
Is this just me, or does anyone else seem to think that female characters are much more likely to become Ensemble Darkhorses than male characters? If so, why do you think this is?

It seems that most Bronies barely ever call background ponies by their official name. For example (Official name followed by fan name):
Sweetie Drops = Bon Bon
Minuette = Colgate
Amethyst Star = Sparkler
Berryshine = Berry Punch
I know Sweetie Drops was called Bon Bon in Slice of Life, but that's only what she tells random ponies as her name, it's certainly not her actual name.

OK, so... wow, way to end the first half of Season 5 on a high note, am I right?! Welcome back everypony to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews," and holy cow, was that quite the episode! I literally have nothing bad to say about this one, at all, so very much like the "Slice of Life" episode review, this review's going to be more of a big ol' text of fangasming more than anything else. Without further ado, let's jump right into "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?"
So before we get to the more substantive bits of the episode, namely anything having to do with Princess Luna, let's look at more crowd-pleasing elements first, cause there were A LOT from start to finish. So, first, the Mane 6. The episode for the most part had a nice balance of all of them, something we haven't seen much since the start of the season and doubly impressive considering the episode didn't actually star them as the main characters. They contributed heavily towards the lesson of the episode, but still, they were not the stars here, and the fact that they were so seamlessly woven into the screen time without taking away from Luna was incredibly impressive to say the least. Spike also had a great episode from start to finish, and was helpful in quite a few capacities. Definitely one of his better supporting roles this season, both in and out of the dreams (especially when Buff Spike returned). The Mane 6's dreams were all very entertaining and unique, and made sense for all of them (both the ideal dreams and the nightmares), though some stood out more than others. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy's, and Rainbow Dash's were especially amazing and creative; Pinkie with her random inability to stay in one part of a dream the second her subconscious thinks of another spot (and dear Lord, how she keeps sanity doing that is beyond me ), Fluttershy's Angel Bunny nightmare was too funny (though Angel wasn't exactly any different than usual ), and OH MY GOSH Rainbow Dash's nightmare, PERFECTION!!! How do you do a Barney reference and an Anchorman reference at the same time? THAT'S HOW!!!
Jazz flute... so much jazz flute!
But even as amazing as their individual dreams were, they all paled in comparison to that final dream with ALL OF PONYVILLE!!! Holy cow, that was fun. Let's just list off everything that was here, in no particular order; we had a ton of callbacks, including Rainbow Dash and Applejack taking on their Power Pony identities, Spike turning into Buff Spike, Fluttershy turning into Flutterbat, and so on; we had a whole lot of new stuff as well, especially from the background ponies, including Lyra and BonBon being fused together in one of the greatest CatDog references I've ever seen, bucking Big Mac literally turning into an alicorn princess and simultaneously referencing magical girl anime (GOSH DANG IT, THANK YOU LARSON!!!), Filthy Rich flying around through the power of money (because of course he would), flying muffins (just go with it), flying Scootaloo with, I'll admit, quite terrifying looking giant wings, Rarity sewing up the sky itself (a very nice creative touch there that I for one liked very much), pretty much every other major background pony in Ponyville (including Mr. Cake actually getting a speaking role, which I liked), and GIANT DERPY WHO SOUNDS LIKE A CAT WHICH IS JUST THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER (only topped by BUFF SPIKE MOUNTING AND RIDING GIANT CAT DERPY INTO BATTLE, OMG THAT WAS THE MOST GLORIOUS IMAGE EVER THAT SHALL FOREVER BE INGRAINED INTO MY BRAIN, YAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!). And ALL OF THESE PONIES, the Mane 6, Spike, all of Ponyville were battling a nightmarish entity inside of a giant shared dream, and it was BUCKING GLORIOUS!!! So yeah, uhhhhhhhh... lots of "little" stuff like that that contributed to making this episode friggin' amazing.
Well that's just terrifying. Berry, go home, even in the dreamscape you're drunk.
Thanks, M.A. Lar- I mean, Scott Sonneborn! You did it, you madman, you! You actually did it!!!
Well... at least they're taking this awfully well.
This is the greatest thing I've ever seen
I stand corrected... THIS is the greatest thing I've ever seen!
Nightmare Moon's final nightmare: her own shadow come to life
But finally, we are brought to the core of the episode itself, and this is what lifted it from simply being amazing, to being "OH MY GOSH, GLORIOUS TRIUMPH OF AWESOMENESS!!!" I am talking of course about Princess Luna and the Tantabus. First of all, it is worth noting that this was Princess Luna's first true role in the show starring her as THE main character of an episode since "Luna Eclipsed" wayyyyyyyyy back in Season 2. She's had some very solid appearances since then, and has really been showing up a whole lot this season especially, but as an ardent fan of Princess Luna (Best Princess, now and always), I adored seeing her in a starring role here. Besides that, the issues addressed were very heavy, they were addressed very impressively, and they also made perfect sense for her character. The Tantabus, as we only learned as the episode progressed, was a nightmarish entity born of Luna's very own guilt. This is not just any guilt, this is the guilt of a thousand-year-old mistake, a mistake that hurt many ponies and cost Luna and her sister Celestia so very much. The weight of this guilt was especially apparent in Luna's words at the end when she finally confessed exactly what the Tantabus was through sorrowful tears as it looked like she was bringing suffering to Equestria all over again. That scene was simply utter perfection, and it's mostly because the writers earned it. Throughout the episode, Luna was desperately trying to fix this on her own, but for the wrong reasons; her guilt was fueling her desperate efforts, and that guilt in turn only fueled the Tantabus more and made it stronger. While she defeated it a bit quickly at the end, it still felt fine because she defeated it only when she finally realized that not only had her friends and all of Equestria forgiven her, but that she herself truly had changed. She need no longer fear that she will become Nightmare Moon again, no longer need let her past sins control or guide her actions. Indeed, so ashamed was she of her time as Nightmare Moon, so fearful that it could happen again that we learned she purposefully created the Tantabus in order to remind herself of her past failures every single night in nightmarish dreams of her own of her very own making. That is simply tragic, and it adds so many layers to Luna's character. But now she is free of her guilt, free of the pain she caused herself and others so many centuries ago, and that was all wonderfully encapsulated in that final image of Luna sleeping in a beautiful, serene dreamscape representation of the inner peace that she has finally achieved. I loved, loved, loved everything about Luna here, and while it may not have been her funniest showing (that honor still goes to "Luna Eclipsed"), it is still by far the greatest Princess Luna episode of MLP for me personally. She has finally closed the book on Nightmare Moon once and for all, and the fact that that sin haunted her for so long makes all the sense in the world. But now she is free at last of all the ghosts of her past, and dear Lord could it not possibly have been presented any better than it was here. This may very well be one of my top 10 favorite MLP episodes of all time from now on, it was simply that good, especially in Princess Luna's story arc.
Besides that, there were just a few other little things that were very nice about this episode. It was great seeing all the pets again, including Tank, who appears to be back from his hibernation, yay! The animation as always was incredibly top notch and we had a whole lot of very different but inventive and wildly creative locations to see here in the multitude of dreamscapes and the strange creations inhabiting them all. It was a cool bit of canon that apparently Celestia has never had any power to enter into or alter dreams, very cool that the writers cleared that up. And finally the pacing here was just too good, I swear, DHX has simply hit a sweet spot level of perfection at this point when it comes to pacing their episodes that few ever do. If they could fit such an epic episode with so much at stake into 22 minutes and still make it work, my gosh, what can't they do?! All around, this was just a perfect episode, and with a mid-season hiatus now in full swing, I don't think we could've asked for a better one to close the first half of Season 5 out. This'll probably be the last edition of "Batbrony Reviews" for a while, but don't worry, MLP and my reviews will both be back in no time ya'll, and I look forward to hanging out with you all again in a few months to close out the rest of Season 5! Until then, this is Batbrony, ecstatic and signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*
A dream a thousand years in the making; sleep well, Luna

I would have the following:
Fluttershy
(Kindness, Polite / Timid)
Vinyl Scratch
(Generosity, Expressiveness / Low attention-spam)
Minuette
(Laughter, Outgoing / Immature)
Soarin'
(Loyalty, Bravery / Lazy)
Dr. Hooves
(Honesty, Intelligence / conceited)
Sonata Dusk
(Redemption, Forgiving / Unintelligent)
I would choose these characters because there is a balance of race (2 Earth, 2 Unicorn and 2 Pegasus) and they're two stallions included. I also think their personality and backgrounds are very unique to each other (not to mention, some of them are my favorite characters )
There traits have been altered a skosh, but only to make their personality's more balanced.
Who would you have?